Norway’s Norseman Xtreme Triathlon is known as one of the hardest races out there, but the 2015 edition proved particularly tough on Saturday (1 August), with chilly conditions forcing the organisers to take the sensible decision and shorten the swim.
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Water temperatures hovered around 10.5°C in Hardangerfjord, meaning the swim was halved for the first time in the race’s 13-year history – it’s usually closer to 13-15°C.
Nonetheless, 249 hardy athletes jumped in from the car ferry and began a long day of racing that would involve 1.9km of swimming, 180km of cycling and 42.2km of running.
Men’s race
Defending champion Allan Hovda had an impressive support crew that included Danish pro triathlete Rasmus Henning, who joined him for the last section of the run, which begins with the long uphill drag at 25km on the road known as ‘Zombie Hill’ and finishes at the top of the rocky Gaustatoppen mountain.
“It’s been an extremely rough day,” said Hovda after claiming the win in 9:43hrs. “Henrik Oftedal biked like crazy.” Second place went to Lars Petter Stormo (NOR), and third place went to up-and-coming youngster Lars Kristian Vold.
Women’s race
Norseman first-timer Kristin Lie battled her fellow Norwegian Line Foss all the way to the finish line, finishing nearly three minutes ahead with a time of 11:50hrs. Third place went to Line Marie Langseth.
“I think the race was awesome,” said Lie afterwards. “The organisers, the crowd – everything was amazing. I felt I had control the whole time. I just kept smiling.
“My support gave me clothes, they gave me food – I was really prepared for a really cold bike ride. When we were at the top of the mountain, it’s cold. I had really huge gloves and a really huge warm jacket, so I was enjoying myself.”
For more results and race information, visit the website at www.nxtri.com.
Men’s results
1) Allan Hovda (NOR) 9:43:46
2) Lars Petter Stormo (NOR) 9:49:43
3) Lars Christian Vold (NOR) 9:54:27
4) Graeme Stewart (GBR) 10:04:36
5) Henrik Oftedal (NOR) 10:22:09
Women’s results
1) Kristin Lie (NOR) 11:50:48
2) Line Foss (NOR) 11:53:32
3) Line Mari Langseth (NOR) 12:13:42
4) Kari Flottorp Lingsom (NOR) 12:21:46
5) Silje Rafaelsen (NOR) 12:44:03
(Images: José Luis Hourcade)
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